iMac HHD issues

[mayogt]

last week my iMac started booting to a white screen...I reset the PRAM and booted the iMac with the installation disk and did the 'repair disk'...this worked, but now I'm back to a white screen and now when I boot with the install disk, my HHD doesn't show as an option in the side bar under the disk utilities or when I finally get the HDD to show (after rebooting numerous times) all the options to 'repair disk' or 'repair permissions' are grayed out. For 3 days I haven't been able to select the HHD or get the iMac to boot.

I believe I have a bad HHD, but before I buy a new one and replace the HDD, I would like to know for sure that there's not another issue other than a bad HDD, like the logic board.

Does it sound like from the above, a bad HHD? There's NO Apple service centers near me, so I can carry the iMac to Best Buy and let the Geek Squad take a look at it...or just take a chance and buy a new HDD and replace it myself...

Any suggestions would be helpful.

 

[miles01110]

Yep, sounds like a bad hard drive to me.

 

[MrCheeto]

I just thought I'd comment on the undecided use of HDD to HHD.

It's HDD if you mean your Hard Disk Drive.

Just a tip

 

[mayogt]

I just thought I'd comment on the undecided use of HDD to HHD.

It's HDD if you mean your Hard Disk Drive.

Just a tip

just in a hurry...the boss was hollering for me to help get the kids ready for bed...

 

[MrCheeto]

Boss, LUL good one.

 

[nomenculture]

Same problem

I have this same problem. I tried reading the HHD as a "target" using another mac and a firewire cable. The other mac read it, but stopped half way when trying a disc repair. So I ditched this HHD (still at a tech for data recovery) and purchased a new drive. Well mac booted at first, but then stoped working properly with messages like "Unable to copy to disk" and not able to do any functions that require writting. Since then it will boot only with the OS disc. Now it's really messed up. Hopefully I can get another drive? Maybe? but I doubt it. So maybe it is the logic board? Anyway, Im getting another mac soon.

 

[SamNeeds]

Try booting in verbose mode and see what comes up. If there is an issue with the HDD it should stop running through and tell you there's an issue.

Power it down completely, power it on and hold Command+V straight away.

 

[mayogt]

Finally i gave up trouble shooting my Intel iMac, so I took a chance that my issues were a faulty Hard Drive...so I saved myself around 300 bucks plus cost of equipment and bought a new HDD and installed the new one myself last night.

Total installation time of new HDD took just little over an hour...installing Mac OS X, recovering my files via Time Machine, installing software updates took 3 hours to complete.

So far all is running well, but I was holding my breath during restarts. I hope my problems were solved.